Club Derry Under 16 7's Hurling

On Sunday 20^th March the annual under-16 hurling 7s was held in Claudy. The games were played on Claudys excellent new 3G pitch facility which proved to be the perfect venue for the competition. 7 clubs in all took part, there were two groups with the top 2 teams from each section going into forward to the semi finals. The groups finished up as below:

Group 1:

Team	played	won	lost	draws	points
Lavey	3	3	0	0	9
Na Magha	3	2	1	0	6
Slaughtneil	3	1	2	0	3
Coleraine	3	0	3	0	0

Group 2:

Team	played	won	lost	draws	points
Banagher	2	2	0	0	6
Swatragh	2	1	1	0	3
Kevin Lynchs	2	0	2	0	0

In the semi-finals Lavey proved too strong for Swatragh whilst Na Magha defeated Banagher. The final again was an excellent game of hurling with Lavey coming out on top against Na Magha on a score line of 4 - 5 to 1 – 5. Overall Lavey were deserving winners, they combined strong running and economical use of the ball throughout the day which other teams could not match. The winning team got a set of Club Derry jerseys as the prize for the winning the competition. Congratulations to Lavey and well done to all the clubs who took part.

North West Indoor Hurling 2011

Over the past few weekends teams from Derry, Donegal and Tyrone have been taking part in the North West indoor hurling under 10 competition. The teams were hosted in 2 venues, LYIT in Letterkenny and Templemore sports complex in Derry City.The games were all ground hurling only and played in a Go Games format with the main focus of the blitzes being getting the lads to enjoy playing and helping to develop their skills. 14 clubs in all took part, with the standard of hurling improving as the games went on. A special word of thanks must go to Donal McLaughlin (Chairman Donegal Hurling Board) Noel Murray (Na Magha), and all of the various club coaches who helped to ensure that the blitzes were such a success. Many of the clubs participating will now take part in Ulster blitz in the Meadowbank this weekend so hopefully the North West competition will have prepared the lads for playing against teams from across the province.

Thanks again to all the clubs for their continued efforts in hurling development. I have no doubts that if clubs can sustain their current efforts they will soon reap the rewards. Thanks again, Kevin.

Indoor Primary School Hurling Blitz @ Meadowbank

On Thursday 3^rd March, the County Derry indoor hurling blitz was held in the Meadowbank arena in Magherafelt. 7 schools took part:

St.Canices Dungiven,

St.Eoghans Moneyneena,

St.Columbs Straw,

St.Johns Swatragh,

St.Brigids Tirkane,

St.Brigids Mayogall

St.Patricks Glen.

The schools took part in a series of Go Games matches throughout the day. The standard of hurling was very high with some exceptional individual talent on show. This is a credit to the work going on in the local clubs and within the schools themselves. We look forward to the outdoor blitzes in the spring to see how the lads are developing. Many thanks to the teachers who reluctantly took a day away from the classroom to help out at blitz and to the schools for their continued support in the development of hurling in Derry.

Under-12 North West Indoor Hurling Competition

For the past 3 weeks, 17 clubs, from 3 counties have been taking part in the North West under-12 hurling competition. The game is played indoors, with full hurling rules. Teams play 5-a-side with teams scoring by striking the ball against the basketball backboard. The first 2 weeks of the competition were seeding rounds held in the Letterkenny Community Centre, The Old Library Trust Hall (Derry City) and Dungiven Sports Pavilion. The final round was held on Sunday past, 31^{st Jan.} The A section finals were held in Dungiven and the B finals in Letterkenny.

Overall the standard of hurling was very good and players were clearly developing as the competition went on. Congratulations to all the clubs, players and coaches for their efforts over the past few weeks. A special word of thanks must go to Donal McLaughlin (chairman of Donegal hurling Board), Emmet Stewart (Derry City GPO) and Shauna McCallion (Derry City GPO) for supervising at the various venues during the course of the competition.

The A final was contested between Kevin Lynchs and Ballinascreen with Kevin Lynchs coming out as worthy winners in the end. In the B finals Kevin Lynchs came out on top again, defeating Na Magha in the final.

Roe Valley O' Cahan's get New Jersey

See attached Roe Valley O Cahans in their new set of jerseys. More progress for the o'cahans, if anyone in the Roe Valley area would like to get involved and play hurling they are more than welcome to do so. Just contact Kevin Hinphey.

Barrett Electrical Under 13 Hurling Competition

For the past four weeks 15 teams, from 3 counties competed over two divisions in the Barrett Electrical under 13 competition. 7 teams competed in the A section and 8 in the B section.. The league sections finished up as below:

Section A

Played won lost draw points
1 Slaughtneil 6 6 0 0 18
2 Kevin Lynchs 6 4 2 0 12
3 Lavey 6 4 2 0 12
4 Swatragh 6 4 2 0 12
5 Ballinascreen 6 2 4 0 6
6 Buncranna 6 1 5 0 3
7 Carrickmore 6 0 6 0 0

Section B

Played won lost draw points
1 St.Eunans 7 6 1 0 18
2 Banagher 7 5 2 0 15
3 Coleraine 7 5 2 0 15
4 Kevin Lynchs 7 4 3 0 12
5 Burt 7 4 3 0 12
6 Na Magha 7 2 5 0 6
7 Carndonagh 7 2 5 0 6
8 Letterkenny Gaels 7 0 7 0 0


On Sunday past, 30th November the competition reached its conclusion with the top four teams in each section playing off semi finals and the final. In the B semi finals St.Eunans Letterkenny defeated Kevin Lynchs thanks to a last minute goal and Banagher defeated Coleraine 2.2 to 1.1 in an excellent game of hurling. The final match was another cracking game of hurling with St.Eunans Letterkenny defeating Banagher by 2 points. Derry senior hurler Oisin McCloskey presented the medals after the match.

The A section semi finals paired Slaughtneil against neighbours Swatragh whilst Kevin Lynchs played against Lavey. Kevin Lynchs and Slaughtneil came through their respective semi finals relatively comfortably setting up an eagerly anticipated final between two excellent sides. Kevin Lynchs came out on top on scoreline of 2.8 to 2.5 and were presented their medals by Derry senior hurler Gareth O Kane.

All 14 clubs deserve great credit for their efforts over the past few weeks and a special thanks must go to the referees and the clubs who hosted the games for making the tournament a big success. Congratulations to St.Eunans and Kevin Lynchs on their respective victories.

Mini National Hurling League

Primary 5 children from St.Canices Primary school Dungiven participated in a mini National Hurling league competition over the past few weeks. The P.5 classes were divided up into 8 teams and played 3 games every week for 5 weeks. A league table was updated each week and put up on the school notice board. At the end of the mini league the top 2 teams played off in the final. This was an excellent programme for a large school as it maximised number participation and gave all the children a taste of hurling/camogie. Hopefully the children will now have got a taste for the games and will join with their local clubs over the next few weeks when the indoor programmes begin. The eventual winners of the competition were Cork, led by captain Darragh McGilligan, who defeated Derry in the final. Well done to everyone who took part

New Hurling Team in Limavady Area

This year we had a new hurling team competing in the County at under 8 and under 10 level. The Roe Valley O Cahans, are an amalgamation team taking in players from Limavady, Magilligan, Glack, Ballerin and Faughanvale. The lads began training in the Spring of this year and numbers participating have steadily increased as the season has progressed. The boys have played in 5 Go Games blitzes held in Owenbeg throughout the summer and have competed against established hurling clubs from Derry and beyond. The O’Cahans also held their own summer camp this summer which was attended by over 20 boys under from ages from 7 to 10. The finale for the season was a blitz held on Saturday 2^nd October at Limavady Wolfhounds GAA grounds, where the O’Cahans hosted under 8 and 10 teams from Kevin Lynchs, Banagher, Na Magha and Eoghan Rua, Coleraine. The Roe Valley O’Cahans had 30 players on the day of the blitz.
The new club is being driven forward by Gaels from the various target clubs who deserve great credit for the progress that has been made this year especially considering the fact that many of them are very involved with underage football in their respective clubs. They are Brendan McMahon (Magilligan) Sean Kelly (Magilligan) Brian McNicholl (Limvaday/Kevin Lynchs) Michelle Doherty (Ballerin) and Bosco McDermott (Limavady). A special thanks must go to all the parents who have been very supportive throughout the season. The Roe Valley O Cahans are indebted to the local clubs who have been most generous in providing their facilities to allow the boys to practice and allow the club to develop.
The Roe Valley O Cahans will take a well earned break for a few weeks but will begin their indoor coaching programme in mid November. All new comers will be welcome as the club hopes to build on the success from this season. It is vital for the development of hurling in Derry that we can get more clubs playing the game in the County, so we hope to see the O Cahans going from strength to strength over the coming years.

Club Derry Under 14 Hurlers Lift National B Shield

The Derry Under 16 and Under 14 Development squads were in action last weekend (Sat 28^thAug) at the National blitzes.

The under 16 squad were in Mullingar where they had a promising start beating Wicklow by a goal in their opening game. They lost their remaining two league games to a very strong Wexford side and then by a single point to Meath. This left the lads in the ‘shield’ semi-final where they were due to play Roscommon. Again the lads put up a very good show but lost out by just 3 points. The squad were missing a few key players on the day, for a variety of reasons, but overall the management team of Paddy McEldowney, John O’Dwyer and Kieran Stevenson were very pleased with the effort the lads put in.

The under 14 squad were in Port Laoise on the same day. They lost their first two group matches against Kildare and Carlow respectively. This left the lads in the ‘shield’ section where they were in a group with Meath, Wicklow, Roscommon and Mayo. The lads won their semi final match against Mayo by ten points to set up a final appearance against a very strong Wicklow side. Going into injury time of what had been an excellent game of hurling, the sides were level, when team captain Fergal Irwin ran half the length of the field to score a winning goal with the final puck of the game. The lads thoroughly enjoyed their days hurling and all the lads deserve a lot of praise for the way the preformed on the day. A special word of thanks to the parents who travelled the long distance to give their support and to Gerard Finnegan and Darragh McCloskey who were part of the management team for the day.

All County Primary School Hurling Championship

On Friday the All County Hurling Primary School championship took place. From the group stages it was St. Canice Dungiven, St. Brigid's Mayogal, St. Brigid's Tirkane and St. John's Swatragh who qualified for the semi final stages. The schools from Dungiven and Lavey progressed to the final.

The game was very close throughout and the standard of hurling on show was exceptional. St. Canice Dungiven managed to run out winners to win the competition.

Ulster Vocational Schools Hurling Blitz @ Owenbeg

Today 4 hurling teams took part in an Ulster vocational schools hurling qualifier at Owenbeg to determine who competes in the Ulster Under 14 finals. Schools from Kilrea, Dungiven, Ballymoney and Buncrana all took part in the day of hurling.

Dungiven and Ballymoney will progress to the Ulster Final.

Year 9 Hurling Coaching Day @ Owenbeg

On Wednesday 5th May Kevin Hinphey organised a coaching and blitz day for all year 9 hurlers to attend at Owenbeg. 6 Schools and approx 130 players took part in what was an excellent day of coaching and games delivered by Kevin Kelly, Ruairi Convery, Francis Scullion and Kevin Hinphey. The lads gained a lot from it. Thanks to all the players for taking part and to the coaches for giving up their time to work with the lads.

Cross Community Hurling

Today, Wednesday 28^th April, the Ulster Council hosted its annual cross community hurling competition at the Mid Ulster Sports Arena in Cookstown. Teams were made of an amalgamation of year 11 pupils from maintained and controlled Secondary schools in Urban areas. 8 teams in total took part in the competition, 2 of which were from County Derry. The teams came from the Derry city and the Limavady areas respectively. Well done to all the lads who took part, many of whom were playing hurling competitively for the very first time.